The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has successfully concluded the UIDAI Data Hackathon 2026 with a celebration of the outstanding student-led innovations in the space of digital identity to improve governance and public service delivery.

Launched to promote innovative and responsible use of digital identity data, the hackathon provided a platform for students and young professionals to develop scalable, data-driven solutions aimed at enhancing inclusion, efficiency, and governance outcomes.

The initiative witnessed an overwhelming response, with nearly 15,000 teams registering and more than 5,000 teams submitting solutions, making it one of the largest data innovation challenges in the Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) ecosystem.

Following a rigorous multi-stage evaluation process involving screening of over 5,000 submissions, shortlisting of 30 projects, and detailed assessment of 15 finalist teams, the top five teams were invited to present their solutions at the final ceremony.

The winning team from Institute of Engineering and Management, Kolkata and Indian Institute of Science Education and Research in Kolkata presented an in-depth analysis of aggregated Aadhaar enrolment and update datasets shared by UIDAI.

Their work generated valuable insights into enrolment trends and biometric update patterns across regions, states, and demographic groups, along with recommendations for improving service delivery.

Addressing the participants, CEO UIDAI, Shri Vivek Chandra Verma commended the teams for combining analytical rigour with a strong public-interest perspective. He noted that such innovations have the potential to directly support policy and operational improvements, while underscoring the importance of responsible and ethical use of data to drive inclusion and efficiency in governance.

CEO UIDAI also outlined UIDAI’s forward-looking vision for the initiative, stating that the UIDAI Data Hackathon may be institutionalised as an annual platform to foster innovation in digital identity and public data use.

Future editions of the hackathon are also expected to broaden participation beyond students to include academia, researchers, start-ups, and other non-academic contributors, fostering a more diverse and interdisciplinary innovation ecosystem.

The UIDAI Data Hackathon 2026 reflects UIDAI’s growing commitment to open innovation, youth engagement, and evidence-based policymaking. By enabling participants to work with real-world datasets, the initiative not only fostered technical excellence but also encouraged solutions grounded in public impact.

UIDAI expressed its appreciation to all participants, jury members, and partners for contributing to the success of the hackathon.

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MSZ

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